1. Technical Field
Aspects of the invention relate to a data processing apparatus and a method for image forming that are adapted to form an embroidery pattern in a predetermined position with respect to a printed pattern formed on a fabric with a printing device, and that are adapted to form a printed pattern in a predetermined position with respect to an embroidery pattern formed on a fabric with an embroidery sewing machine.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, various embroidery sewing machines that are adapted to form embroidery patterns on fabrics by driving frames to hold the fabrics in two directions independently based on data for the embroidery patterns have been used. Meanwhile, various techniques to form printed patterns on fabrics have also been suggested. As one of such techniques, an inkjet printing device that is capable of forming a printed pattern on a fabric by driving the fabric and a print head relatively in respective directions based on data for the printed pattern is suggested. When both of an embroidery pattern and a printed pattern are formed on a same fabric by using such an embroidery sewing machine and a printing device, generally the two patterns are formed either by forming the printed pattern with the printing device after forming the embroidery pattern with the embroidery sewing machine, or forming the embroidery pattern with the embroidery sewing machine after forming the printed pattern with the printing device.
Generally, each of the embroidery sewing machine and the printing device is respectively provided with a holding instrument such as a frame to hold the fabric. Therefore, when the embroidery pattern and the printed pattern is formed on the same fabric, a process to transfer the fabric from one of the frames of the embroidery sewing machine and the printing device to the other frame is required. In order to omit such a process, the frame for the embroidery sewing machine, of which height is relatively greater, can be considered of being also used as the frame for the printing device. However, in order to form the printed pattern on the fabric in a certain quality, the printing device is required to have the print head in a close proximity with the fabric. In such case, troubles may occur between the print head and the frame, such that the print head may interfere the frame when the frame is detached from or attached to the printing device, or the print head may interfere with the frame to be driven.
In Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 2004-263350, a technique to form an embroidery pattern on a fabric with an embroidery sewing machine based on data for the embroidery pattern that is created based on image data and to print an image on the fabric with an inkjet printing device based on image data is disclosed. In addition, in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 2004-254987, a general embroidery sewing machine having a sewing system, a frame to hold a fabric, and a frame driving system is disclosed.
When both of an embroidery pattern and a printed pattern are formed by using the embroidery sewing machine and the printing device, as described above, a process to transfer the fabric from one of the frames of the embroidery sewing machine and the printing device to the other frame is required. In such case, it is difficult to form the embroidery pattern and the printed pattern in a predetermined location with respect to each other. However, in the process of transferring the fabric, if the fabric is held by the other frame to be positioned in a predetermined alignment with respect to the pattern (one of the embroidery pattern and the printed pattern) that is already formed on the fabric, both of the embroidery pattern and the printed pattern can be readily formed on the fabric in the predetermined alignment with respect to each other.
However, as the other frame is not provided with any mechanism to adjust the position of the fabric with respect to the pattern that is already formed on the fabric, having the fabric in the predetermined alignment has been difficult. When a size of the one of the frames of the embroidery sewing machine and the printing device and a size of the other frame are identical, the above-described problem can be solved by having a portion of the fabric that was held by the one frame to be similarly held by the other frame. However, even in such a method, the fabric can be easily be misaligned from the predetermined position, and the above-described problem cannot be easily solved. Therefore, in order to prevent the misalignment, a user is required to repeatedly adjust the position of the fabric with respect to the other frame by reattaching the fabric to the other frame, which may be time consuming and troublesome.
When the size of the one of the frames of the embroidery sewing machine and the printing device and the size of the other frame are not identical, even with a reference mark provided to the fabric, having the fabric in the predetermined position with respect to the other frame is even more difficult, as no positioning mechanism to align the fabric in position is provided to the other frame.